


Slices of Life

by dettiot



Category: Chuck (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-04
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-17 16:18:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/869511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dettiot/pseuds/dettiot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Chuck/Sarah ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Zoo

**Author's Note:**

> Set late season 3.
> 
> Written for principia_coh.
> 
> "Sarah's never been to the zoo before."

"Tell me again why we're here?" Sarah asked, wrinkling her nose as the pungent odor of animal waste wafted towards them.

"Because you have never been to a zoo before, and because this is a much better place to see endangered and majestic tigers," Chuck said, swinging their joined hands.

"They'd be a lot more majestic out of captivity," Sarah grumbled, knowing she sounded grumpy but unable to help it, not when that mission with the Turners still left a bitter, unhappy taste in her mouth. Because what if she and Chuck turned out like them?

Chuck looked down at her, then let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her in against him. "Think back to when you were little. What would that Sarah have thought of the tigers?"

She'd never been Sarah as a girl. That was a name her father had never picked for any of their cons. But if the child version of the woman she was now could be here at this zoo today …

Looking up at Chuck, she couldn't help smiling at him. "I'd think they were majestic."

Chuck's smile, big and bright and happy, told her she had said the right thing. So even though the manure smell never faded, Sarah found that the zoo was a lot of fun.


	2. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set late season 3.
> 
> Written for thegranddewru.
> 
> "Breakfast on any given day."

This morning is the busy start to an even busier day: work at the Buy More for him and the Orange Orange for Sarah, a briefing planned during their "lunch hour" in prep for a mission tonight. Chuck's feeling a bit tired, but he can't help smiling when he remembers just why he's tired.

He has the coffee perking by the time Sarah's up and moving, her heavy footsteps a stark contrast to her normal grace. When she finally pads into the kitchen, dressed in her uniform but with damp hair and a face free of makeup, he's just finished flipping the pancakes as the bacon drains on a paper towel.

"If I knew I'd get breakfasts like this, I'd have moved in sooner," Sarah says, giving him a shy yet cheeky smile. "And I would have gone for round three last night."

He's pretty sure his ears have never been as red as they feel right now. But he wants to show her that two can play at that game. "You said that the briefing is at 12:30, right?"

She nods as she pours herself some coffee. "Right."

"Then I'll take a rain check for round three at noon, in the supply closet." He nearly holds his breath, wondering if he's going too far by bringing up their heat-of-the-moment interlude from the other night in Castle's supply closet.

Sarah's blush, even as her eyes dance, tells him he's gone just far enough. "Deal. Now let's eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"I'd say lunch is," he replies with a grin as he hands her a plate full of food while kissing her cheek.


	3. Dentist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set late season 3/early season 4.
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Chuck really, REALLY dislikes going to the dentist.."

After two weeks of watching Chuck turn down anything to eat that was the least bit crunchy or sticky, she has to ask him what's going on. It takes some persuading, but he finally spills the beans.

"I've got a tooth ache."

She frowns. "You do? It's hurting that bad?"

Chuck nods. "Yeah. But—but I'm sure it'll get better soon." Arching an eyebrow, Sarah looks at him skeptically but doesn't say anything, and he cracks. "Well, no, probably not, but …"

"But what?" she asks, moving closer to him and stroking his hair.

He looks at her, his eyes big and brown, then speaks hesitantly. "I really dislike going to the dentist."

"I don't know if anyone likes going to the dentist," she says, trying to sound equal parts supportive yet encouraging. "But the tooth ache really won't go away on its own."

Chuck sighs. "After my dad left, money was really tight," he explains. "When I was seventeen, my wisdom teeth started coming in and I was in agony—from that and from the four cavities I didn't know I had. Ellie was freaking out, so I managed to find the cheapest dentist possible to take care of it." He gives her a small, weak smile. "I got what I paid for."

The thought of a teenage Chuck, in pain and worrying over the money, suffering at the hands of some quack made her insides clench. She wanted to find that dentist and make him hurt just as much as Chuck must have hurt. Because if Chuck was willing to suffer pain in order to avoid the fear of a dentist appointment, the guy must have done a number on him.

But getting revenge wouldn't help Chuck now. She racked her brain for a moment, then smiled a little as an idea presented itself to her.

"As CIA agents, we have dental insurance. I'll help you find the best dentist in Southern California, and then I'll go with you to the appointment. Hold your hand, give you something to focus on."

"You will?" he asked, his eyes widening. "I mean, you wouldn't say it if you wouldn't do it, but are you sure? This isn't going to be pretty."

Sarah leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Thank you!"

And yet again, that image of a teenage Chuck popped into her head, all arms and legs and eyes, and she couldn't help wishing she could have seen him then. If only to tell him that someday, he'd have someone to hold his hand when he went to the dentist.


	4. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set early season 5.
> 
> Written for purpleaffair.
> 
> "Celebrating Sarah's birthday"

If he had known he'd finally find out Sarah's birthday when they got married, he'd have tried to get married sooner.

Chuck smiled as he put the finishing touches on the dinner table. Sarah knew that he knew when her birthday was, but he suspected that she was still a little nervous about what he might do. She'd seemed on edge the whole day, like she was expecting him to do some big, crazy celebration.

But that wasn't what Sarah would want. And Chuck, who understood having mixed feelings about your birthday, didn't want to make her regret sharing the date of her birth with him. But he wasn't about to let the day go unnoticed.

Thankfully, today's job had been best suited to Sarah's skill set. So while she went undercover as a personal shopper to the loose-lipped wife of a terrorist, he'd had the time to put together this special dinner. Gardenias and candles on the table, steaks that he'd watched like a hawk in order to cook perfectly, and a rich chocolate cake in the fridge: it was the least he could do to honor his wife's birthday. Not to mention the very special present that he'd spent days deliberating over.

The sound of the door opening drew his attention and he turned to greet Sarah. He picked up the glasses of wine he had poured and walked over to her.

"What's all this?" Sarah asked, sliding her coat off and smiling at him before taking her glass.

"This is your birthday dinner," he said, leaning in to kiss her softly. "Happy birthday, baby."

"Birthday?" she asked, interrupting the kiss. "It—it's not my birthday, Chuck."

He pulled away and stared at her. "What?! But—on our marriage license, you put this date at your birthday!"

Sarah nibbled on her lower lip, the nervous tell warning him. "I did … but it's not really my birthday." She held up her hand, cutting off his response. "When I've had to use a date of birth for anything official, I've used this one, ever since I got recruited." She gazed up at him, looking worried and nervous.

He gazed back, wondering if he'd ever really know the woman he married. It must have shown on his face, because she spoke softly. "March 3. That's my birthday. I swear. I'm sorry, Chuck—I wrote down November 15 without even thinking, because I'm so used to using it, and when I remembered I was worried about what you'd think so I didn't tell you." She stepped closer to him, taking his hand and holding it tightly. "Can you forgive me?"

When she put it like that … of course he could forgive her. He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist. "It's okay, Sarah. I mean, I wish you had told me sooner, but I understand."

She held on to him, still looking up at him. "I wish I had told you. So I wouldn't have ruined your surprise."

Chuck kissed her cheek. "Who says it's ruined? You'll just spend your unbirthday being pampered by your husband now."

"Unbirthday?" she said, cuddling into him and leaning up to brush her nose against his.

"From—From _Alice in Wonderland_ ," he said, swallowing hard.

She nuzzled him, then brushed a soft kiss over his lips. "You're sweet."

If there was a man alive who could act cool after Sarah Walker called him sweet, Chuck would like to meet that man so he could buy him a beer. He cleared his throat. "Well, unbirthdays are important, too."

Sarah gazed up at him through her eyelashes. "Today's your unbirthday, too, right?"

He nodded, biting back a moan as Sarah kissed his neck. "Can dinner keep? I think I have a present for you," she said sultrily.

Actually, the steaks wouldn't be nearly as good reheated. But as he set down his wine glass so he could bury his hands in her hair as he kissed her, Chuck didn't really care about the food.


	5. Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set early season 4.
> 
> Written for mysongstory.
> 
> "a visit to the #RockefellerCenterChristmasTree and seeing the Salvation Army kettles in front"

"C'mon, Sarah, we gotta hurry if we're gonna get to see the tree up close!"

Sarah laughed softly. Chuck's enthusiasm was contagious, even though she had to put a pin in his balloon. "Chuck, you're six foot four. No matter where you stand, you're going to be able to see the tree."

He grinned and grabbed her hand. "But I wanna see all the details and the ornaments and everything."

"I don't think the Rockefeller Center tree has ornaments, Chuck," Sarah said, letting Chuck pull her into the scrum of people waiting to see the tree lit this chilly late-December evening.

He just grinned back at her and returned to plowing his way through the people—for a man without a lot of heft, he could certainly clear the road, she thought with a smile.

When he'd found them a spot that was close enough, Chuck drew Sarah in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. "Body heat. Very important in the cold," he said, pressing his chest against her back.

"Mmm," she said, rubbing his arms. She looked around the crowd, taking in the people laughing and smiling, the children bouncing in excitement as they waited for the tree to be lit up as the twilight deepened. Suddenly, through the din, she heard the high-pitched tinkle of a bell.

Swiveling her head around, she saw off to their right a Salvation Army bell-ringer, standing next to his kettle.

Sarah bit her lip, remembering all the years when Christmas was about lifting as many kettles as they could find. Her father had always excused their actions by pointing out that the Salvation Army was a charity that discriminated against non-Christians and gays, "And what kind of charity discriminates?" he'd ask. But Sarah knew he could care less about that. And for a little girl brought up to see Christmas like any other day, it hadn't mattered back then.

Chuck poked her in the shoulder. "Look, look, it's starting!"

She managed to smile up at him, thankful that she had Chuck to show her what the holiday season was about. He had warned her that she would be heart-warmed, the first time he invited her to share Christmas with him. He didn't realize how right he was. And that it was all because of him.

The tree-lighting was magical, she had to admit—if only to see how Chuck's face had lit up like the tree, enjoying every bit of it. As the crowd dispersed, she took Chuck's hand and subtly led him past the bell-ringer. And when she walked past the bell-ringer, using her years of experience as a con artist and a spy, she dropped fifty dollars in the kettle.


	6. Comics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set mid-season 3.
> 
> Written for victorianoir.
> 
> "Chuck walks in on Sarah secretly reading his comic books."

"What what WHAT?!"

Morgan nearly dropped his controller at the sound of Chuck's voice coming from the bedroom he now shared with Sarah. The leggy blonde Valkyrie of a girlfriend, the one that Chuck had been in love with for years before they were officially a couple (and wow, his best friend really was the most awesome man ever, being all secret super spy and getting a hot woman like Sarah to make their fake relationship real) had decamped to the bedroom so Chuck and Morgan could have their normal video game night. But even though they hadn't had video game night for weeks, Chuck hadn't been able to resist "going back to check on Sarah" halfway through their Halo raid.

"What? What did I do?" Morgan heard Sarah ask, her voice confused.

"That—that—that was mint in the bag!"

Oh, hell no!

Morgan tossed aside the controller and ran down the hallway, skidding to a stop in the doorway. He peered around Chuck as best he could—the boy had seriously put on the muscle recently—and saw Sarah—

" _DC Comics Presents_ #26. The introduction of the new Teen Titans. Possibly—no, definitely—Chuck's favorite group of superheroes ever. The comic book that he spent three summers saving his money in order to buy … and you're reading it?!" Morgan asked, his voice growing increasingly shrill as he spoke.

Sarah looked back and forth between the two of them. "I … I thought you bought comic books to read them. And I knew you liked the Teen Titans," she said, turning to look at Chuck. "So I thought I'd read it and see if I could figure out why you liked them."

Morgan looked at his best friend. The man was caught between a rock (his very expensive comic now being practically worthless) and a hard place (his hot girlfriend who was looking like she had pushed Peaches I in front of the car that had killed her).

"Sarah … yes, you're right, I buy comics to read them. I don't get all hung up on the collector value now. But—but that book? That one is special."

"Oh," she said, her voice sounding small. If Morgan didn't know better, he'd say that Sarah looked like she might cry—something he didn't think was possible.

Clearly, this was a conversation that Chuck and Sarah needed to have in private.

"Chuck, buddy, I'm going to go get those pizzas," Morgan said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "You and Sarah talk."

"You sure, Morgan?" Chuck asked, glancing over his shoulder at him.

"No, no, I don't want to interfere with video game night," Sarah said, attempting to put the comic book back in its bag, only to succeed in bending back one of the corners. Chuck instinctively winced and Sarah's shoulders slumped.

He had to give the girl credit: she was trying, even though the nerd was not strong with her. He gave Sarah an encouraging smile. "It's cool, Sarah. You two hash this out, and then we can have pizza together before resuming video game night. It'll be great."

Sarah gave him a small, somewhat wavery smile. "Thanks, Morgan."

"Yeah, thanks, buddy," Chuck said before walking over to sit down next to Sarah. As he slid his arm around her shoulders, Morgan turned and made tracks.

"Man," he said quietly to himself as he got his jacket and the key to his bike lock, "Chuck's got his work cut out for him with her."


	7. Singing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set post-finale
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Chuck and Sarah walk in on Casey doing something they never expected him to do... he's singing along to Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen."

It was nice to have Casey back, Sarah thought as she followed Chuck into what was once Castle and was now the home of Carmichael Industries. As her memories slowly returned, Chuck had been increasing the number of cases they took on. Their latest job had required some extra muscle, so Chuck had called Casey and asked him to give them a hand.

She hadn't seen Casey since he had left, right after she had lost her memories, and things were still a bit tense between them. She knew that Casey didn't trust her. The feeling was somewhat mutual: Sarah found herself trusting Casey without understanding why, which made her doubt herself. But those moments were happening less often now as she relaxed around Casey.

Casey nodded to them from his place at the conference table. He was in the middle of cleaning several weapons, she saw: there was a dissembled HK MK23 spread out in front of him, as well as two more pistols waiting for their turn. "Bartowski. Walker."

"Hi, Casey," she said, taking a seat at one of the computers.

"Just like old times!" Chuck said, his voice full of cheer. "Casey cleaning weapons, us working together. Are you sure you wanna go join back up with Gertrude, Casey?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Casey glance at her, then he grunted. "Hell, yeah."

Chuck sighed, then shrugged. "Had to ask, buddy," he said, slapping Casey's shoulder as he went to his computer.

"Watch you two lovebirds fumble around to bein' a couple? Watchin' that once was bad enough."

Sarah felt her cheeks flush. It was true that she and Chuck were growing closer together, but there was still a lot of work for them to do.

A silence fell over the room, punctuated only by the clack of keys and soft clinks as Casey reassembled his weapon. Slowly, though, Sarah became aware of a low melodic humming. Glancing up, she saw that it was coming from Casey. She tilted her head as she tried to figure out what he was humming.

Chuck had also stopped working—in fact, he was practically gaping at Casey, his mouth hanging open. Sarah didn't really understand what was going on, until Chuck managed to recover himself.

"Casey?"

He let out his "yes?" grunt in-between his humming.

A grin spread across Chuck's face. "Are you humming Call Me Maybe?"

"Is that what that is?" Sarah asked as Casey looked up, his jaw clenching. "That incredibly catchy song?"

Chuck nodded, his smile widening. "That's the one. The song all about a girl asking a guy to call her."

Casey looked back and forth between the two of them, looking like a terrorist pinned against a wall by a Bowie knife. Sarah couldn't help smiling, too. The thought of Casey singing a teen pop song was pretty hilarious.

The older man grunted. "Like you said, it's catchy. Can't go anywhere without hearing the damn thing."

Chuck smirked and started singing. "Hey, I just met you—"

Casey cocked his now-reassembled HK. "And this is loaded."

"Shutting up," Chuck said with a grin, turning back to his computer.


	8. Bonfire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set post-finale
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Chuck tries to take Sarah for a romantic night cap on their beach in Malibu but is failing miserably at lighting the bonfire."

Sarah watched Chuck as she pulled her knees in against her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She smiled softly as he tried to get the damp wood to burn.

A year ago today, they had sat on this beach and Chuck had asked her to trust him. It had been both the hardest and the easiest thing she had ever done. Hard because she was so used to following her head, and it was telling her that trusting him was foolish and dangerous. Easy because if she listened to her heart, she knew that she already trusted him.

They had gone out to dinner earlier tonight, celebrating the memories that had returned to her while making some new ones. When Chuck had stayed on the highway on the drive home, she guessed that they might end up here. And now he was trying to make a bonfire—trying so hard to give her a happy moment here.

"Chuck," she said softly. "C'mere."

"I've almost got it," he said, leaning in and blowing on the tiny flame he had achieved. "Almost, almost …" He groaned when the spark flickered out again. Sitting back on his heels, he looked so defeated that Sarah uncoiled herself and crawled over to him.

"It's okay, Chuck," she said, cuddling in against his side. "You can't start a fire with wet wood."

"I know that," he said, sighing. "I mean, I was in the Boy Scouts. I went camping."

She looked up at him. "Did you like that? Being a Boy Scout, I mean."

"Kinda?" he said, wrapping an arm around her. "Morgan wanted to do it, so I joined, too. I liked doing the merit badges—learning something new and getting recognition for what I had learned."

That answer didn't surprise her. She smiled a little and leaned into him, turning to look out at the ocean as the waves rolled in.

She knew that he had wanted a big, romantic moment. Something that would demonstrate how far they had come. But they didn't need big gestures. After all, look at how they were sitting right now. The other times on this beach, they'd never been so close as they were right now.

Maybe he realized that, because she could feel him relax against her. He lightly brushed a kiss over the top of her head. "Okay, baby?"

She nodded. "Yeah. This is nice."

"You're not too cold?"

Sarah smiled up at him. "No. I've got you to keep me warm."

The slow, soft smile that spread across his face was beautiful. Seeing his heart in his eyes, she felt a surge of love and happiness and hope. And the only way she could deal with that surge was to lean in and kiss him.

His hand came up to brush along her jaw, not so different from that day a year ago. But this kiss was different from last year. That time, it was about showing him that she trusted him. But now, she was showing him that she loved him.

And the best thing was, he knew it.


	9. Disney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set mid-season 1
> 
> Written for alicehermione.
> 
> "Chuck finds out that Sarah didn't watch Disney movies as a kid."

It all started when Chuck was trying to convince Sarah to join him at Disneyland for a day.

"I grew up going there and I think you'd like California Adventure, and, and! They're ending the Main Street Electrical Parade next April and sending it to Florida, and who knows when it could come back?"

He was coming close to begging her. And it wasn't very dignified, he knew. But Ellie was listening and after all, their cover was as boyfriend and girlfriend, and this was the kind of thing he'd done with girlfriends before. Well, girlfriend. Well, girl he dated. Megan Mahoney, his prom date, had gone with him to Disneyland and had then proceeded to dump him two days later. Jill preferred Knott's Berry Farm, so they had always gone there.

Sarah was opening her mouth to refuse—he could just tell—until he cut his eyes over to Ellie and then back to Sarah. His CIA handler and fake girlfriend got the message.

"I've never gone to Disneyland … it sounds like fun," she said, her voice a little forced. "With … with Bugs Bunny and all that."

Chuck gaped at her. "Bugs Bunny? No, no, we're going to Disneyland."

"Bugs Bunny isn't at Disneyland?" Sarah asked.

"Um, no." He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Disneyland, you know. With Mickey Mouse and the Disney Princesses and all that."

"Oh," she said.

"Chuck, ease up on Sarah," Ellie interjected. "Not everyone is a Disney nerd like you are."

"I'm not a Disney nerd," he protested. "I just like the movies. And the park."

"Uh-huh," Ellie said with a grin.

Chuck rolled his eyes at her and turned back to Sarah. "Didn't you grow up wanting to go to Disneyland? Imagine yourself in one of the movies? I always wanted to be in _Aladdin_ with the Genie and the flying carpet."

Sarah nibbled on her lower lip. He might not know much about Sarah Walker, but he did know that when she did that, she was nervous about something. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant. "Actually … I never saw _Aladdin_. Or—or any of the Disney cartoons."

It was all he could do not to let his mouth fall open. "What?! How could you have never seen a Disney movie?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized that a, he was being really pushy and b, she'd probably clam up tighter than a guard at Fort Knox.

"Lots of people don't let their kids see the movies, Chuck," Ellie pointed out. "The other day I had a patient, this cute little six-year-old, whose parents didn't want her to get brainwashed by the whole Disney Princess thing."

"That was how my parents felt," Sarah said quickly. "They didn't want to bring up a princess."

Chuck eyed Sarah as she fell into conversation with Ellie. He didn't really think that was the case, but what could he do? It wasn't like he could force her to tell him. Trying to make Sarah Walker talk when she didn't want to was a process that was bound to end badly for him.

Ellie looked down at her watch and sighed. "As fun as this has been, I have to get to the hospital." She quickly hugged Sarah and kissed Chuck on the cheek before gathering her things and walking out of the apartment, leaving the two of them alone.

Once Ellie was gone, Sarah drew back from Chuck. "We should probably go over that intel, see if you flash on anything."

Chuck sighed and rubbed his temples. He'd already done some flashing earlier and he wasn't looking forward to the headache that was already developing. Sarah must have seen him wincing, because she paused and put down the file folders she had pulled out of her bag. "It can wait."

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

Sarah nodded and smiled at him a little. "We can do something else until you're ready."

He smiled back, his mind immediately presenting an option to him. Well, two options, but he doubted he could ever convince Sarah to kiss him for real. "Maybe … maybe we could watch a movie?"

Sarah's eyebrow quirked. "A movie."

Chuck nodded. "Yeah. Expose you to a whole new world." He couldn't help grinning at his choice of words, even though Sarah wouldn't catch the reference.

"Let me guess: a Disney movie?"

"And people think I'm the genius," he said, playfully nudging her.

To his relief, Sarah laughed as she shook her head. "Okay, okay. We can watch one of these movies, if only so I can see what the big deal is."

Chuck smiled widely. "You won't be disappointed. Take a seat while I pick out the best movie to introduce you to the Disney experience."

With a small smile, Sarah nodded and sat down while Chuck looked through his collection. This was harder than he thought and he spent a good two minutes debating different options. Then, as he sensed Sarah getting antsy, he decided to go with his instincts and picked _Aladdin_. Popping it into the DVD player, he sat down next to her and smiled. "I hope you like this one."

Sarah gazed at him for a moment, then smiled back. "I hope I do, too."

As nice as it would be to hold her hand or drape his arm around her shoulders, there was no need for it since they were alone. But Chuck noticed that as the movie progressed, Sarah definitely relaxed enough to let her side touch his. And that made him very grateful that he had memorized _Aladdin_ so he didn't really have to watch it. Because all his brainpower was going into memorizing the feel of Sarah Walker's side pressing lightly against his.


	10. Yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during _Chuck vs. the Other Guy_
> 
> Written for principia_coh.
> 
> "There's no mission to interrupt Chuck and Sarah sharing their feelings in Chuck vs. the Other Guy."

"What? Uh … what?"

He must still be drunk, even though he was pretty sure he was more than half-way to sober. Because Sarah was gazing at him and if he didn't know better he'd say her heart was in her eyes and she was saying "Yes" …

"Chuck, I fell for you a long _long_ time ago: after you fixed my phone and before you started defusing bombs with computers viruses. So, yes." She let out a small, nervous, shy chuckle, then she looked at him, her face soft and hopeful. "Yes."

He blinked. She—she was saying yes—and it wasn't in answer to his question about making a fool of himself, it was about the other question, so that meant she—

Sarah, the amazing smart beautiful perfect woman that she was, must have realized he was having problems figuring this out, because she leaned over and kissed him softly. Her fingers stroked his jaw and he felt bad about the whiskey taste she must be experiencing but it didn't seem to stop her from kissing him. And it didn't stop him from kissing her back. At least, not until reality invaded his brain.

"What about my red test?" he asked, pulling back from her.

She shook her head. "Casey told me. He told me that he killed the mole, and that you couldn't do it. And it was the best news that I ever heard, because it means you haven't changed. You're still Chuck … You're still _my_ Chuck."

It wasn't often that Sarah Walker opened herself up to anyone. And when she did, she knew how to do it in just a few words. The idea that he was hers … it made a huge smile blossom on his face. And she smiled back at him and everything was _wonderful_.

He fumbled to get the plastic guitar out of his way, then he reached out for her, pulling her in close to him. He pressed kisses along her jaw line, nuzzling her oh-so-soft skin. "Sarah …" he whispered, loving the sound of her name, even if it wasn't the name on her birth certificate. But knowing her real name (which he couldn't believe was actually Sam) didn't matter so much anymore. Just as long as they were real. And now they were.

A really, really nice shiver went through her when he lightly kissed her neck, so he did it again. Her hands fisted in his shirt as she pulled him in for a long, slow, soft kiss. He couldn't help letting out a little moan as she kissed him, making him hers even more than he already was.

"S-so … so do I have to do anything special to convince you to go to Mexico with me?" he asked, not wanting to give up on his fantasy of the two of them on vacation together. He wanted to be with her, wanted it to be just about the two of them with no lies, no secrets, no spies.

Sarah looked at him, her eyes a shade of blue he'd never seen before. That small crease in her forehead appeared, the one she got whenever she was thinking hard about something she wanted but felt she shouldn't do. Then her face cleared and she shook her head. "Only if you don't want to go right now."

"Really?" he said, beaming at her. "You want to go now?"

She nodded. "Yes. We … we deserve some time for ourselves."

The fact that they were a we now and that she was willing to admit that she deserved something, that she was someone who wanted things beyond the best weapons and all the CIA provided, made him feel like dancing for joy.

"Gimme—gimme one minute," he said, untangling himself from her. "My bag's still packed from the other night, I just gotta put some clothes on." He paused in the untangling long enough to kiss her, then looked at her for a long moment. "I know it's hard for you to open up, but I want you to know, I will do everything I can to make you feel safe. So that you don't ever think it was a mistake to trust me with yourself."

Over these last two and a half years, he'd gotten to be pretty good at reading Sarah Walker. So he knew that his words had touched something within her, from the way her eyes widened, from the pinkness that rushed into her cheeks, and from how she was holding her breath. He kissed her one more time, then scrambled to his feet and hurried back to his bedroom.

XXX

Sarah felt herself make an uncharacteristic sniff. She wasn't a weepy woman, prone to crying at the drop of a hat. Yet something about Chuck's sweet sincerity made her want to sob. That he thought he had to start doing something _now_ to get her to trust him …

From the very beginning, she had trusted him. That was what made Chuck Bartowski dangerous to her. She found herself telling him things that she hadn't planned to say, revealing details that almost no one knew. The trust and support he gave her, learning how and when to push for more yet never demanding answers—he was special. He had become worthy of her trust a long time ago. Worthy of her trust and her love.

She'd known from early on that he cared about her. That he had feelings for her. And from the surveillance footage that Carina had slipped her, she knew that he thought he loved her. But it wasn't until he said the words to her face, on that night when she felt heartsick and lost and certain she had to leave because she couldn't bear seeing him and not being with him, that she realized why it hurt so much. She loved him, too. So going away with Shaw, their sham of a relationship, it suddenly wasn't possible anymore. She couldn't leave Chuck—she wouldn't leave him.

Rubbing her eyes, she tried to push the tears out of her voice as she pulled out her phone. She had to tell Shaw that Chuck and she would be out of touch for the next few days. The usual procedure would be a phone call. But most agents had fallen into the texting habit and Shaw had never complained about getting a text before. So instead of calling him and risking getting bad news like a mission, she sent him a text.

Chuck hurried out of his bedroom, carrying a suitcase, his big happy smile still on his face. "Do we need to go by your place?"

Sarah shook her head. "No … I've got a bag in the trunk of my car. One I keep packed for spontaneous trips."

He grinned at her. "That bag's in case something happens and you need a change of clothes after a mission. It's not exactly a weekend getaway kind of bag."

"That's what you think," she teased, smiling at him. "There are some things you don't know about me, Chuck."

"A lot of things, actually," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Things that I'd like to know, but only when you're ready."

She found herself rubbing her thumb against his hand as she gazed at him. "I … I might be ready soon," she said, knowing that she sounded vulnerable. But she wasn't scared. Well, actually, she was—they were taking such a big risk, because what if this didn't work out? What if the CIA retaliated against them for this relationship? She'd always planned and thought ahead, and now here she was, leaping before she looked.

But when Chuck leaned down and kissed her softly, she closed her eyes and let herself fall. She'd spent too long holding Chuck at arm's length. For once, she was going to let herself want something that didn't have anything to do with national security. Because right now, any other choice was unbearable.

She'd take what she could have with Chuck, even if it didn't last for very long. A few days with him would be worth whatever heartbreak might come.

"Ready to go?" he asked, nuzzling her softly and making her knees feel weak.

How on Earth could they get all the way to Mexico without tearing each other's clothes off? Sarah made a mental note to suggest stopping in San Diego for the night.

She gave him a small smile. "Ready."

And by his answering smile, she knew that he was ready, too.


	11. Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set early season 4
> 
> Written for ordinaryfootsteps.
> 
> "I'd like to see a ficlet in which Chuck and Sarah (while dating) meet Jill or Cole."

Sarah looked around the ballroom as she sipped her champagne. The private Christmas party at the home of a suspected terrorist was lavish, with large arrangements of white roses and poinsettias, pine trees with twinkling lights, and lots of red and green. If she hadn't been here for work, she might enjoy the party.

Especially, she thought as she caught a glimpse of Chuck, because she was here with her boyfriend.

Even after a year together, she still felt a bit giddy and girly when she thought of Chuck as her boyfriend. It was so … normal. And given that she knew she wasn't a normal woman, it was nice to discover that she wasn't that different from other females when it came to thinking about her significant other.

"Heading to the study," Chuck said quietly over their communication channel.

Sarah tucked her hair behind an ear, speaking softly into the delicate bracelet that concealed her mike. "Understood."

According to their plan, Chuck was going to sneak into the target's study, using some computer gadgets to set up a trace that would feed data to the CIA from the terrorist's computers. Meanwhile, she'd keep an eye out for the target in the ballroom, making sure he didn't approach the study.

She walked around the ballroom, doing her best to act the part of a bored socialite. The room was filling up to the point of being crowded. When she bumped into a broad-shouldered man, Sarah began apologizing in French.

" _Excusez-moi, monsieur_ —"

The man turned around and the words died on her lips.

" _Du rien, mademoiselle_ ," Cole Barker said smoothly. He leaned in towards her, switching to English. "Fancy meeting you here."

She gave him a flirtatious smile, not wanting to attract attention. But her voice was far from flirty. "Hello."

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Cole asked as he brushed a kiss across each of her cheeks.

So in the two years since she had last seen him, Cole Barker, MI-6 operative, hadn't changed a bit. She didn't know whether that was interesting or just expected. She angled her face away from his lips slightly. "No, but then, we're not friends, are we?"

Looking up at Cole, she realized her initial assessment wasn't quite correct. He had changed—there were a few more crinkles at the corners of his eyes and even a hint of gray in his hair. Cole Barker looked tired, a man sliding into middle age without anything to ground him, without anything beyond being a spy.

"I'm hurt," Cole said, laying a hand over his heart. "I thought we left things as friends."

"Then maybe you could drop the James Bond routine and act like a normal person?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she sipped her champagne.

Cole scoffed. "Where's the fun in that? The excitement, the intrigue?"

Once upon a time, she might have agreed with him. Certainly her relationship with Bryce had been propped up by the danger of their jobs. But now … she knew that a good relationship didn't need constant change to stay fresh and new.

"Nearly done up here. Sarah, anything to watch out for?" Chuck's voice drew her attention. Cole must have seen the flicker in her eyes as she listened to Chuck, and he grinned.

"Work before play, I see?"

"You're clear," she said quickly into her bracelet, then looked back at Cole. "Yes. As soon as my partner is finished, we'll enjoy a bit more of the party before leaving."

Cole nodded, not asking any questions about her assignment, following the unspoken protocol of acquainted agents who encountered each other in the field. "Say, whatever happened to that fellow you worked with back then? Chuck? I always wondered how he made out, because he didn't really seem suited for this life."

Sarah took another sip of champagne as she pondered how to reply to Cole. Should she give him some idea that Chuck would be joining her in a moment, or hold back and see just how surprised Cole was?

That was a silly question, she thought with a smirk. "I suppose he's adjusted. That's what I've heard."

"So you're not working with him anymore?" Cole sounded surprised. "I didn't know you'd moved on." He waggled his eyebrows. "Perhaps I'll finally get my chance."

Sarah looked at him. Still cocky and arrogant. But while two years ago she had been charmed but distrustful, now she thought he was just a bit sad and lonely.

So it wasn't hard to be kind to him and attempt to let him down easily. "I'm sorry, I'm with someone. It's serious." Glancing up towards the staircase, she saw Chuck slowly descending, his eyes locking on her.

"Oh?" Cole asked. "I wouldn't have thought that of you."

"It's like I told you," she said, feeling the change in the air as Chuck approached her. "When you meet someone you care about, it's hard to walk away." She turned as Chuck joined them and took his arm, giving him a smile. "Hi. You remember—"

Chuck smiled at Cole. "Good to see you again," he said, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Cole blinked, looking thunderstruck. She could understand surprise, since dressed in a well-tailored suit and with shorter hair, Chuck certainly fit the image of a spy now. But it seemed like Cole really didn't believe what he was seeing. It took him a moment to reach out and shake Chuck's hand.

"And here I thought I'd seen it all," Cole said slowly.

Ignoring the implied slight, Chuck smiled at Cole. "Well, Einstein said that imagination was more important than knowledge. But I'm sure it's a surprise to see us here together."

"You could say that," Cole said. He looked back and forth between the two of them, then huffed out a laugh. "Yet again, I come in second place." He gave Chuck a small salute. "Congratulations. Have a good rest of your evening."

And with that, Cole Barker turned and melted into the crowd.

Chuck looked at Sarah curiously. "What did he mean about 'second place'?"

"Oh, just a conversation we had a few years ago," Sarah said, reaching out and brushing lightly at the shoulder of his tux. "I'll explain it later. Everything set?"

Chuck nodded. "We're good to go. In multiple senses of the phrase."

Sarah laughed softly. "Not before we have a dance. After all, with our practicing, I want to see how you make out without any help."

When Chuck had mentioned wanting to learn how to dance, instead of relying on the Intersect, she had jumped at the chance to teach him. Their lessons had gone much better than her attempts at teaching him martial arts—although both sets of lessons had been about the same length, but for vastly different reasons. Usually, their dance lessons ended with a make-out session in Castle's supply closet, instead of her injuring him.

"Oh, you wanna dance?" he said, grinning at her. "You better have your dancing shoes on, then."

Still smiling at her, he drew her out onto the dance floor just as _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_ began playing. Sarah went happily into his arms, enjoying the confidence she saw in Chuck as he lead her around the dance floor. They moved in sync, gliding and twirling in time with the music.

Sarah laid her head on Chuck's shoulders, her eyes half-closed as she savored being close to him. This was the perfect way to end a mission, she thought idly. So much better than running out under a hail of bullets, like she probably would have if she had gone off with Cole. It might be an unfair comparison, contrasting Chuck and Cole. But at this moment, she wouldn't trade anyone for Chuck.


	12. Marvel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set late season 3
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Sarah prefers Superman over everyone else (or alternatively, she prefers Marvel over DC/vice versa.."

Chuck looked at Sarah as they walked through the shopping center. "I wanted to stop in at my comic store … do you mind?"

This wasn't a request he was making lightly. It was one thing to ask Sarah to move into the apartment, with all the nerdy collectibles and the video games and, well, Morgan. But asking her to go to the comic store with him, exposing her to the full range of fanboy …

But Sarah was a CIA agent. And so was he, too! With all the things they had seen, a few hardcore nerds shouldn't be that intimidating. She'd be able to handle it, and he'd be there to help her.

She gave him an impish grin. "It depends. Can we go to the shoe store afterwards?"

One thing he had been surprised about when Sarah had moved in: she really loved shoes. So he had been half-expecting her to make just such an offer.

"Deal," he said, smiling at her as he swung their joined hands. "Let's go."

Sarah nodded and followed him down the sidewalk and into his local. He kept a firm hold on her hand as he greeted the owner. "Hey, Jake. How's it going?"

"Not bad, Chuck." Jake, an elderly man who would tell great stories about the early days of comics when he was in a good mood, nodded to him. "Who's your little lady?"

Chuck almost smirked at hearing Sarah called "a little lady." He squeezed Sarah's hand. "This is my girlfriend, Sarah."

"Nice to meet ya," Jake said, climbing off his stool. "Your box is pretty full, Chuck. You gonna take 'em all today?"

"Yeah, I will—and I'm gonna look around, too," Chuck said as Sarah wandered over towards the racks of new issues. He followed her and stood beside her. He lowered his voice. "Sorry about that—Jake's old-school."

Sarah's smile was sympathetic. "I understand." She looked at the rack, then pointed. "You like those characters, right?"

The book she was pointing to was a _Teen Titans_ title. He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Yep, I do. I'm going to look around."

"Okay," Sarah said, smiling back at him.

Chuck wandered around the store, going to visit the gorgeous Black Canary statue that he wished he could buy. But it was pretty pricey, even with his CIA salary on top of his Buy More pay. Not that he could splash money around, since most people didn't know about the CIA agent thing.

He lost track of time a little, although he kept an eye out on Sarah. When he noticed that she had read an entire single issue, he had to go see what she was reading.

"Hey, baby," he said, walking up and resting his hand on her lower back. "Whatcha reading?"

Sarah turned the book to reveal a statuesque blonde, dressed in a skin-tight, high-necked black unitard. The words _Ms. Marvel_ were emblazoned across the cover. "I like this a lot," Sarah said, smiling a bit shyly.

"Ms. Marvel is pretty bad-ass," Chuck said. "But … she's a Marvel character."

A small wrinkle formed between Sarah's eyes. "What does that mean?"

"See, I'm a DC guy," Chuck said. "They've got great characters. Like Black Canary!" He looked around, then frowned. "Damn, that's right, _Birds of Prey_ just ended." He turned, heading towards the trade paperbacks and pulled out one, a collection of recent _Birds of Prey_ comics.

Sarah was looking at him, her expression both amused and slightly annoyed. He walked over and showed her the book. "See, she's got this Canary cry that can incapacitate anyone, and she's an amazing martial artist. Sound like anyone we know?" he asked her with a grin. "I bet you'd really like this."

"But I like this one," Sarah said, holding up the _Ms. Marvel_ issue. She lifted her chin. "What does it matter if I like Marvel comics and you like DC?"

"I … I guess it doesn't matter …" Chuck said slowly, realizing that as much as he thought Black Canary and the rest of the DC superheroes were the best, Sarah liked Ms. Marvel, who was plenty awesome.

And he had a hot, beautiful girlfriend who was showing an interest in comics. Acting like she could only like what he liked would be the worst kind of fanboy behavior. Looking at things from that perspective, Chuck had to shake his head and smile. "Sorry, Sarah. My twelve-year-old self overwhelmed me there for a minute."

She gave him a hesitant smile. "What does that mean?"

"I went through a phase for a little while, when I acted like some kind of jerk, thinking that what I liked was the best and anything else wasn't any good," Chuck explained. "I grew out of it, but … yeah."

She laughed softly. "I can't see you acting like that."

"Oh, trust me, it wasn't pretty. Ask Morgan about it sometime," he said, feeling relieved that she wasn't mad at him.

"This ain't a library!" Jake called out.

Chuck winced. "Sorry, Jake!" he responded, then turned back to Sarah. "You'll have to buy the issue you read—Jake's first rule is that if you read the issue, you buy it."

"That's okay," she said, nudging his shoulder.

"And what's more, let's go see if there's any trades of _Ms. Marvel_!" Chuck said, pulling her over towards the shelves filled with trade paperbacks.

"Trades?" Sarah asked curiously.

"It's a collection of single issues, like what you've got there," Chuck told her, scanning the shelves.

"Oh!" she said, sounding interested.

As Sarah joined him in looking through the shelves, Chuck couldn't believe his luck. His girlfriend was actually interested in comic books. Chuck at twelve wouldn't have believed it. And yeah, he personally thought Black Canary was a lot more interesting than Ms. Marvel, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was showing interest in something he liked. Like a real girlfriend would.

He resolved to pay more attention when they were at the shoe store and give Sarah honest answers if she asked his opinion. But that didn't stop him from imagining Sarah as Ms. Marvel for Halloween.

After all, Black Canary's fishnets were great, but Ms. Marvel's costume was really something, too.


	13. Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set early season 4
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Chuck and Sarah listen to Arcade Fire's first album together for the first time."

After months of chasing after Alexei Volkoff with Casey, Sarah was more than ready for some time in Burbank. She hadn't realized just how much she would miss Chuck while she was gone. Before she had met him, the excitement of missions and travel and adventure would have probably pushed him from her mind. But not anymore. Although she wasn't quite ready to move in with him officially, she knew that he was her compass. Her true north. Her home.

So tonight, she wanted to make things special for him. Show him how much she had thought about him even during missions. Last night they had celebrated their nine-month anniversary (an anniversary she hadn't really remembered, because for her, the day they met was really their anniversary, which was another fact she wasn't ready to tell Chuck about yet). Chuck had made her dinner and given her a heavenly foot rub before they had moved back into his/their bedroom.

That had been … amazing, she thought, her cheeks flushing a little as she remembered their love-making. So she wanted to do something just as amazing for him.

But although she had been trained in multiple methods of seduction, none of them felt right for tonight. She wanted to show Chuck that this was for him—not for some random target, involving the same "sexy" routine. How could she seduce her boyfriend?

With a sigh, Sarah finished changing the sheets on the bed. She had splurged on 1200 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, but sheets didn't feel like enough. But at least it was something. She bit her lip as she contemplated whether to do sexy lingerie or something more casual like one of his t-shirts. Candles? Music?

As she tried to figure out what to do, her eyes drifted over the room, eventually landing on the photo of the two of them from the Halloween right after they met. Sarah smiled a little, remembering Chuck's reaction to the Princess Leia costume. He had been so adorable: awed and surprised, but also a gentleman. After his first quick look, his eyes had snapped to her face and had stayed there for the rest of the night.

She was so glad that she had replaced the faked photo with a real one.

Sarah paused as something occurred to her. The day she had given Chuck the first photo, the Photoshop job, she had been in his room because they were maintaining their cover for Ellie and Devon. And Chuck had asked her to stay for the length of an album. What was it?

It only took a moment, thanks to her nearly-photographic memory, for her to recall that it was Arcade Fire. And with that, the pieces of a plan began falling into place. Glancing at the clock, Sarah saw that she didn't have much time until Chuck would get home from his Buy More shift, so she got to work.

XXX

"Sarah?" Chuck's voice floated down the hallway.

"In here!" she called out through the half-open bedroom door. She adjusted herself on the bed and tousled her hair one last time as she waited for him to walk into the room.

"Hey, baby, are you hung—" Chuck stopped himself mid-word, freezing in the motion of loosening his tie, when he took in the bedroom. Candlelight flickered, dancing off the walls and the drapes that she had hung up over the windows, blocking the view into the courtyard. She had folded back the bed covers, revealing the new sheets that she was currently stretched out on, propping herself up on her hands. She watched as his eyes roamed over the white button-down (one of his Buy More shirts) that she'd taken from his closet and was wearing now. Not that she'd bothered fastening any of the buttons.

She gave him a soft smile. "Hi."

It took him a moment to reply, and when he did his words came out in a rush. "Hi. Wow. I—I so wasn't expecting this. I would have brought you flowers if I knew I was coming home to this."

Her smile widened. "You didn't have to bring me anything, you know. Just you."

Chuck looked around wildly. "Did I forget something? It was our anniversary yesterday, so why …"

"Why the candles and half-naked girlfriend waiting for you?" she finished, feeling the urge to tease him a little. She straightened up, seeing his eyes nearly bug out as the shirt shifted.

"Uh-huh," he said, staring at her.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders, nearly laughing at the small, almost inaudible "eep!" that came from Chuck at her movements. "I felt like surprising you."

This was the easy part. Being seductive like this, it was almost as natural as breathing. Of course, doing this with Chuck created many different emotions than if she was doing this with a mark, but still, the basic moves were easy. But the next step … that would be slightly scary. Because it was intimate. It was about them, not some random spy and the target she had to seduce.

But looking at Chuck, being a spy on a seduction mission was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. So she picked up the small remote for the iPod dock and hit play.

It only took about fifteen seconds of music playing for Chuck to identify the song. He gazed at her, his expression softening into one of amazement and love and complete, utter happiness. "This is Arcade Fire's first album."

She nodded, feeling a bit shy and vulnerable. "You said once that it was an auditory aphrodisiac."

"I did," he said, taking a step towards her. "What made you remember that?"

"I … I wanted to do something special for you tonight," she admitted, gazing up at him. Suddenly, she needed to touch him, needed something to hold on to amid this dizzying swell of emotion. She reached out and took his hands. "Because I missed you."

Chuck's smile was soft and warm and full of love. "I missed you, too," he said, leaning down to kiss her slowly.

She closed her eyes and kissed him back, gripping his hands tightly. As nice as this was, she wanted more. She tugged on his hands, pulling him down on the bed next to her. But he wasn't close enough. And she had to find a way to share with him all of what she was feeling.

XXX

Chuck appreciated the new sheets. He complimented her on making his work shirt sexy in a way he'd never considered. But when she asked him about the music, he smiled at her.

"You made it even better," he said softly, lightly kissing the tip of her nose.

She felt her cheeks go pink, then cuddled in against him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as the album ended and the music slowly faded away.


	14. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set mid-season 3, before Chuck vs. the Final Exam.
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Chuck and Sarah christmas? With baking? And everything else about christmas?"

As he approached the Orange Orange, Chuck found himself feeling nostalgic for last year. Which clearly was a sign of his continuing mental breakdown. Because last year at Christmas, he had been held hostage along with his family and co-workers, part of a Ring plot that had resulted in death and distrust.

But he'd still managed to get Sarah's agreement to attend the Bartowski Christmas celebration. Not that it had been much of a success, after he had seen her shoot Mauser in cold blood. Sarah had sensed his discomfort and had found an excuse to leave partway through the gathering.

This year might not be that much better, with the way things were between them. But in Ellie's eyes, Chuck and Sarah had moved past their latest rough patch and were friends, perhaps even on the cusp of dating again. So his sister thought Sarah should come to the Bartowskis' for Christmas. He just hoped he could convince Sarah.

When he stepped into the frozen yogurt shop, Sarah gave him a small smile. "Hi, Chuck."

"Hi, Sarah," he said, feeling a tiny flicker of hope. She was smiling at him, after all. That had to be a good sign, right? Once again, he cursed himself for how he had turned her down in Prague, for how he had messed things up between them so badly that he felt like he didn't know her anymore.

"What's up?" she asked him as she refilled the toppings containers.

"Um, well, you see … it's Christmas, you know."

Sarah paused, then gave herself a small shake. "Yes, I do know." She nibbled a little on her lower lip. "And since Ellie thinks we're seeing each other …"

"She expects you at the traditional Twilight Zone marathon on Christmas Day," Chuck finished, looking at Sarah. "She's promising Christmas cookie baking this year, too, if that helps to sway you." He smiled at her sheepishly, trying not to appear as awkward as he felt. They had agreed to be friends, but it was so damn hard. Especially now that Shaw was in the picture and he was everything Chuck wasn't.

He could see Sarah hesitating, and he opened his mouth to tell her it was okay if she didn't want to come, but she cut him off. "Okay."

"Really? Okay?" Chuck knew his eyes must be wide with disbelief.

Sarah nodded. "Okay. I … I don't have anywhere to be on Christmas Day, and I haven't seen Ellie in a while, and—and besides, we're friends. Friends spend Christmas together."

Friends. Of course that was what they were. Even though he had definite more-than-friends feelings for her, it didn't matter. Because she had moved on.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course. Morgan will be coming over for most of the day, after all."

Sarah nodded. "Okay, well, see you then. Oh, should I bring anything? Presents for everyone?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she would be enough of a gift, but that was such a bad idea that even Morgan at his dumbest wouldn't have gone there. So Chuck just shook his head and said goodbye before heading back to the Buy More.

Last Christmas had been uncomfortable and awkward. He had a feeling this year would be even worse.

XXX

"Merry Christmas!"

The sound of Ellie's hyper-cheerful voice, greeting the newest arrival, made Chuck tense. Because that meant Sarah was here.

She looked absolutely beautiful, even in black yoga pants and a fuzzy red sweater, her hair loose and wavy. Chuck swallowed and wished suddenly he had put on actual clothes, instead of staying in his plaid pajama pants and t-shirt.

Sarah kissed Ellie's cheek and handed her a large poinsettia. "Merry Christmas, everyone. Thanks for having me."

"Of course!" Ellie said, smiling brightly at Sarah. "It wouldn't be Christmas without you. And not just because Chuck would look all sad and hang-dog all day."

"El …" Chuck said, feeling his face flush.

His sister smirked at him. It looked like Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb was playing matchmaker. Chuck sighed and turned to Sarah. For appearances' sake, he gave her a quick hug, getting an intoxicating whiff of the fragrance that screamed "Sarah" to him. "Merry Christmas, Sarah."

She hugged him back politely. "Merry Christmas. How's the Twilight Zone marathon coming?"

"We're just getting ready to watch The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," Morgan piped up. "Chuck said it was one of your favorites."

"I do like that one," Sarah said, pulling back from Chuck and smiling at Morgan. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Anything for Chuck's best girl," Morgan said, winking dramatically at Sarah.

Chuck somehow managed to not roll his eyes. Ellie had found a willing accomplice in her matchmaking plans, it appeared. Given that Morgan knew the truth of Chuck's spy life and his "relationship" with Sarah, he was bound to be more difficult to handle than Ellie. Because while he could persuade Ellie to go easy on him by saying that things were complicated, Morgan knew the truth about how he felt about Sarah. And dissuading the little bearded man was nigh-on impossible, Chuck knew.

"Let's get started, then," Sarah said, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from Morgan. Chuck looked at the seating arrangement and chose the chair next to Sarah. Close, but not too close.

"Where's Devon?" Sarah asked, looking around as Ellie came over with a new plate of snacks.

"He got called in to the hospital," Ellie said, her voice resigned. "But he should be back in a few hours. And we're under strict orders not to watch The Eye of the Beholder without him."

"Yes, ma'am," Morgan said, giving Ellie a salute before hitting play on the DVD remote.

Ellie took a seat next to Sarah and immediately began a conversation with her. Chuck did his best to watch the episode and not eavesdrop, because as hard as it was having Sarah this close, he hated having to hear her lie to his sister about how she felt about him.

XXX

It was so late that Christmas Day was nearly the day after Christmas. Morgan had just left and Ellie and Devon were both sleeping, curled up together on the couch. Chuck closed the door after Morgan and turned to look at Sarah.

"I guess you'll want to be heading home, too," he said quietly.

Sarah let out a small yawn and stretched. "Mmm, yeah. I don't know why I'm so sleepy. I just sat on the couch and ate Christmas cookies."

"Carbs and inactivity. Since you're not a nerd like me, you don't have years of training to help you handle something like that," Chuck said, smiling at her.

Sarah gave him a cheeky grin and stood up. "I'm going to use the bathroom before I go." She walked down the hall and Chuck couldn't help watching her.

Today had gone so much better than he had anticipated. There had been a few awkward moments, yes, but all in all, it had been a good Christmas. Sarah had joined in on all the activities: debating the best Twilight Zone episode of all time, decorating Christmas cookies, and throwing candy at Ellie and Devon when they started getting handsy.

Chuck grinned a little and started tidying up the living room. Ellie stirred and looked up at him. "Did everyone go?" she asked sleepily.

"Morgan just left and Sarah will be leaving in a few minutes, once she's done with the bathroom," Chuck said as he stacked plates.

"Oh, don't worry about cleaning up, Chuck," Ellie said, shifting to nudge Devon. "We can do it in the morning. Devon, wake up."

Her husband mumbled and wrapped his arms around Ellie, prompting a big smile to appear on her face. Chuck grinned, even as he felt sad that he couldn't have something like that.

Sarah stepped into the living room and picked up her purse. "So I'm going. Thank you for inviting me."

"It was great to have you here," Chuck said, meaning every word. Because it was true: having Sarah there, even with all the feelings he couldn't tell her about, was better than not having her there.

She smiled at him softly and turned towards the door.

"G'night, Sarah—oh, you're under the mistletoe!" Ellie said, grinning a little. "You were so ninja-like, avoiding it all day."

Even in the dimly-lit living room, Chuck could see how pink Sarah's face was getting. "Oh, I didn't think anyone noticed that …" Sarah said slowly, looking up at the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"I did," Ellie said. "Go on, Chuck. Kiss her."

Chuck swallowed. As much as he wished he could give Sarah a real kiss—his lips were practically vibrating at the thought—he knew that wasn't possible. Sarah was with Shaw now. Rather than argue with his sister, he leaned in and quickly brushed a kiss over Sarah's cheek. "Merry Christmas."

And because this was just the heart-breaking angel on his Christmas tree of sadness, Chuck didn't look at Sarah and didn't wait for Ellie to tease him about not kissing Sarah for real. He just turned and walked down the hall to his room.

XXX

The soft knock on his door, five minutes later, made Chuck sigh. "Go away, Ellie," he said, his voice muffled from laying face-down on his bed.

"It's Sarah."

At the sound of her voice, Chuck jack-knifed upright. "Sarah?" he asked weakly.

The woman in question opened the door slightly, looking at him before she stepped inside and pushed the door shut behind her. Chuck blinked at her. "I thought you were going," he said, grasping for anything to say.

"I—I was," she said, fidgeting with her purse before she opened it and pulled out a small, colorfully-wrapped gift. "But I realized I forgot to give you your present."

He stood slowly, staring at the gift in her hand. "You got me a present?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes. It—it's Christmas, after all." She looked up at him, her eyes luminous in the glow that bled into his room from the courtyard's Christmas lights.

"I'm sorry about the mistletoe," he blurted out. "I didn't want to argue with Ellie, so I thought just kissing you would be the easiest thing to do, but—" He cut himself off, not wanting to keep babbling and end up revealing something he shouldn't.

"But it wasn't so easy?" she asked, holding his eyes with hers, the blue depths churning with secret thoughts and emotions just like they had so many times before.

Chuck took a deep breath and nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Me, too," Sarah said in a whisper. She gestured with the gift in her hands. "Merry Christmas, Chuck."

He took the gift slowly, but didn't open it. "I have something for you, too," he said, going to his desk and opening a drawer. "I didn't know when to give it to you, but—but here you go," he said, handing her the present that he'd spent a whole weekend agonizing over before purchasing it and shoving it out of sight.

Sarah's smile lit up her whole face as she took her present. "Thank you, Chuck." She looked at him, then sat down on his bed to open it, going slowly, as if she wasn't used to getting presents.

Because she wasn't, Chuck remembered. So he sat down next to her, watching her and savoring her joy at his gift to her. And then he opened his, feeling his heart leap at her thoughtfulness and knowledge of what he'd like. And suddenly, things didn't seem as bleak as they had earlier.

Perhaps, even though Sarah was dating Shaw now, there might still be hope for them. It—it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? To make one last attempt at proving to Sarah that they were perfect for each other? That together they could be happy?

Maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for them to have a Christmas miracle.


	15. Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set mid-season 5.
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Just a normal day in Chuck and Sarah's life doing normal things."

With a contented sigh, Chuck Bartowski rolled over in bed and cuddled up against his wife.

It was still pretty amazing to him that he had a wife at all. When he considered just who he had married, it got mind-blowing. Because his wife was beautiful, smart, caring … and she loved him just as much as he loved her.

Life was good.

Chuck brushed a soft kiss over Sarah's temple. She let out a soft little mumble and moved closer to him, her hand rubbing against his back.

He grinned. "Feeling like a slugabed, baby?"

"'S not fair, how cheerful you are in the mornings," Sarah grumbled, opening one eye and looking up at him.

"Waking up to you makes me cheerful. Sue me," he said, with a grin and a shrug of his shoulders.

Sarah huffed out a laugh. "No fair being charming after waking me up." But she smiled back at him and kissed him softly. "Mmm … can't we just stay in bed today?"

"Don't you remember what we talked about last night? About running errands and swinging by that video game exhibit at the LA Art Museum, before dinner with Ellie and Awesome?" He stroked her hair back from her face.

She yawned and stretched, pressing up against him. "But staying in bed would be so much fun …"

Playing fair was not in Sarah Walker Bartowski's vocabulary. Not with how she was rubbing against him. "But—but—fun things to do! Out of bed!" he protested half-heartedly.

Sarah smirked at him. "I don't think I need to explain the fun things we can do in bed, do I? Not to my smart, handsome husband?" She leaned in and kissed his neck softly, then let out a soft giggle. "You are really trying to hold out."

"Yes, I am," he said, trying not to gasp. "But … but if you really don't want to do all those things …"

She gazed at him, then smiled and shook her head. "No, we need to take care of our errands. And you've been looking forward to seeing that exhibit for weeks."

Chuck nodded, feeling a bit sheepish. "And it's the last weekend for it, so …"

"So staying in bed all day will have to wait for tomorrow," Sarah said, kissing his cheek. "I like doing that on Sundays better anyway."

"Me, too," Chuck said, grinning at her as he sat up. "Race you to the shower?"

Instead of answering, Sarah threw back the covers. But Chuck had anticipated that and already had a leg on the floor. And for once, he didn't get caught up in the covers. So he managed to beat Sarah to the shower, something that she rewarded him for achieving.

XXX

Dressed in Chucks, jeans, a t-shirt and a Dodgers hat, Chuck carried their dry-cleaning with one hand, his arm bent to allow the clothes to rest against his back. His other hand was wrapped around Sarah's, swinging gently as they walked through the outdoor shopping complex that was close to their apartment.

They did the bulk of their errand-running at this place, and today was no exception. For now, they were just doing some window-shopping before making the last stop at the grocery store.

Sarah's footsteps slowed as they walked past a children's clothing boutique. He felt his heart leap up into his throat as he watched Sarah look at the tiny shoes and outfits displayed. After that moment of thinking Sarah might be pregnant, they had talked a little more about having children. Chuck knew that was what he wanted, with all his heart—but he didn't want to rush Sarah. And besides, they had been married less than a year. It might make him selfish, but he liked having this time with Sarah. Falling more in love with her every day, finding new ways to make her smile … he was happy with his life right now.

After a long moment, Sarah seemed to realize what she was doing. She looked at him, her expression shy. Chuck gave her a smile and squeezed her hand, but he wasn't sure what to say. Sarah seemed equally uncertain. "Everything … everything's so small," she said softly, gesturing towards the window.

He nodded. "Yeah. When Clara was born, I couldn't believe how tiny some of her clothes were."

"And how much she needed," Sarah said, giving him a small smile. "But after that first time we babysat, I understood why."

Chuck laughed softly, remembering that occasion. "It wasn't that bad."

"Maybe not for you, Mr. Perfect Caregiver," Sarah said, picking up her feet and heading towards the parking lot. "I felt completely over my head."

Chuck dropped her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You did great. And you keep getting better."

Sarah nodded, still looking uncertain. Chuck kissed the top of her head and did his best to change the subject gracefully. "So what do we need at the supermarket?"

It wasn't that graceful, but Sarah just gave him a smile and started listing off what they needed, her crazy-nearly-perfect memory negating the need for an actual list. And as he smiled and teased with her through the rest of their errands, he found himself wishing that one day they could have a baby who'd grow up with Sarah's crazy-nearly-perfect memory.

XXX

"This is the most amazing exhibit I've ever seen!"

Sarah couldn't help smiling at her husband's words. He had been so excited about this video game retrospective, ever since he had heard about it. He'd made plans a few times to come with Morgan, but between Morgan's issues with the Intersect and their workload, it hadn't happened. So she'd encouraged Chuck to come this weekend, adding the carrot that she would come along with him.

He'd agreed happily, and now he was moving around like a toddler on fast-forward, half-dragging her from one display to the next. Soaking up every little detail, his eyes shone with delight and joy at seeing his favorite games honored.

It was adorable and sweet and even a little sexy, if she was honest with herself. And when it came to Chuck, she found it easy to be honest. Because … because he was so interested, in everything and everyone, that when he chose to focus on her, she couldn't help feeling special. It was a pretty heady sensation, having Chuck Bartowski focus on you.

She looked around, enjoying the exhibit more for how Chuck was experiencing it. Randomly, she gave thanks that she had chosen flat boots to go with her jeans and blue blouse today, rather than heels. Because with how Chuck was pulling her around the museum, she would have had trouble keeping up.

"Oh, yeah!" Chuck crowed when they reached the area with games set up for playing. He grinned at her and kissed her cheek. "You wanna try any?"

Looking around, Sarah didn't see anything that looked that interesting … or that easy for a complete neophyte like her. Then she spotted a Pac-man cabinet in the corner, and she was taken back to that summer in Wichita, when she pumped quarters into the dingy-looking version that had sat by the office of the motel she and her dad stayed at.

Sarah looked at Chuck and smiled. "I'll be over at Pac-man." She kissed his cheek in return. "Have fun, baby."

She knew it wouldn't take him that long to defeat the other games. And within ten minutes, she could feel him standing behind her as she maneuvered Pac-man through the maze, avoiding the ghosts and scooping up as many points as she could reach.

When he rested his hands on her hips, Sarah wondered if her life could get much better than this.

XXX

"So how about you two?" Ellie asked, smiling at Sarah and Chuck across from the dinner table. "What was your day like?"

"Oh, pretty quiet," Sarah said. "We ran some errands, then Chuck had fun at that video game exhibit at the county art museum."

"It was amazing!" Chuck said, explaining to Devon all about the exhibit.

Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Thank God he's your problem now and you have to suffer through those kinds of things," she said, the kindness of her voice undercutting her gentle mocking.

Sarah looked at Chuck, watching him gesture as he talked to Devon. He was her problem, yes. Her happiness, her worry, her early-morning kisses and good-night hugs, her nerd and her partner and her future. Her husband.

When she looked back to Ellie, she knew she must look like a love-struck puppy, like a girl with her first crush. But from Ellie's wide smile, Sarah knew that Ellie was happy that her brother was in such good hands.

"Yeah, he's all mine," she said softly, reaching out to take Chuck's hand. And when he turned and smiled brightly at her before drawing Ellie into his conversation with Devon, Sarah knew that she could never be happier than she was in this moment.


	16. Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set mid-season 4.
> 
> Written for anonymous.
> 
> "Chuck and Sarah Christmas season 4."

Christmas was one of Chuck's favorite times of the year. Even after seeing first-hand the crass commercialism of the season during eight years at the Buy More. Even after acknowledging that for terrorists and criminals, Christmas was just another day. Even with the strange juxtaposition of seeing inflatable snowmen next to palm trees. He still loved Christmas.

And this year, he wanted to make things very special for Sarah. So far, their Christmases had been marked by distrust and self-doubt. But this year, they were together and happy. And he was realizing that he wanted to have that forever.

He wanted to propose to Sarah. And what better time than Christmas? It would be a way to close the book on those past Christmases and make a new start.

The big question was, just how should he do it? On Christmas morning in front of everyone? Alone on Christmas Eve? With a ring or without? Should he go for the romantic dream or something more holiday-themed?

It was too bad that he'd ruled out using a modified version of his proposal plan. Once Sarah had found an older draft, Chuck had vowed to come up with a better plan—the perfect plan. A plan that would guarantee Sarah saying yes. Because even though he knew Sarah loved him, and Morgan had told him what she had said while he had been captured by the Belgian … he was still nervous about this.

So here he was, getting ready to walk into the jewelry store that Awesome had recommended. Although the gap between a doctor's salary and a computer support tech/spy was pretty large, Devon had reassured him that he'd be able to find something in his price range. His brother-in-law had even offered to come along. But Chuck had turned him down. This was something he wanted to do on his own.

As he stepped inside the quietly elegant shop, Chuck felt his stomach tighten. All he wanted was to marry Sarah. To have her in his life always, to give her someone she knew would always be there for her. He wanted it all: the wedding and the honeymoon and years together and children and a house and everything. And it felt like it was all riding on the ring he got her. That if he didn't get the right one, she'd take one look and get cold feet and say no.

Which made him feel a little ashamed: Sarah had never expressed any kind of materialistic desires. She wasn't someone who wanted expensive things. There was her Porsche and her shoes, of course, but she took care of both of those items carefully, like a woman who hadn't grown up with luxury. She wasn't going to turn him down if the ring wasn't big enough. But the ring was a symbol, a promise. And how could their lives together start on the right foot if the ring wasn't right?

Chuck swallowed. He was freaking out a little. Even though Devon had given Ellie his grandmother's ring, he had said he had followed an easy rule.

"When you look at a ring, you just have to picture it on Sarah's hand. If you can't do it, it's not the right one."

It sounded easy, since a ring would have to be pretty special to belong on Sarah's finger. So he just had to take his time and consider all the options and hopefully, he'd find what he was looking for.

A slim African-American woman who looked a few years older than Ellie approached him. "Good afternoon," she said with a smile. "Can I help you with anything?"

She seemed so friendly that Chuck felt himself relaxing a little. "Um, yes, well—" He looked around, almost as if he expected Sarah to appear behind him, then took a deep breath. "I want to propose to my girlfriend, because it's Christmas and we've always had bad Christmases and I want to change that and since I love her so much, I thought, well, why not pop the question at Christmas?"

The saleswoman didn't bat an eye. "So you're looking for an engagement ring? I'd be happy to help you with that, sir." She held her hand out. "My name is Karen."

"Oh, I'm Chuck," he said, quickly shaking her hand. "Sorry about the babbling—I, um, I tend to freak out when I'm nervous."

Karen gave him an understanding smile. "It's natural to be nervous, but you're in good hands. Why don't we sit down and talk for a few minutes about your girlfriend, so I can have some idea of what rings to show you?" She gestured to one of the desks set between the jewelry cases, then started walking towards it.

Chuck nodded and followed her. Having a woman's opinion on this would be a big help. He'd considered asking Ellie to come, but his big sister, although blessed with many admirable qualities, couldn't keep a secret to save her soul. But Karen seemed nice, so it was easy to sit down across from her and start talking about Sarah.

XXX

If it had been allowed, Chuck would have given Karen a tip. A big one. Because it had taken nearly two hours for him to find the right ring. And he thought Karen was beginning to wish she hadn't approached him when he whipped out a jeweler's loupe to inspect the diamonds in the final six contenders. (He knew that online gemology class he had taken would pay off beyond missions!) Karen had even pulled some strings to help get the ring down to a price he could pay.

Hopefully, his heartfelt thanks to Karen had been enough. But Chuck made a mental note to stop by after the holiday with a gift card for her. Even if the proposal didn't work out.

But he didn't think that would be the case. Because the ring was perfect. Not too large that it'd interfere with Sarah's work, but large enough to make an impact. It might be his imagination, but the diamond in this ring seemed extra-sparkly.

It was perfect for Sarah.

The ring was now safely ensconced in a small red box, almost like a present, and inside a matching red bag. He had decided that Christmas Eve was the right time to ask her. He'd get gardenias and light some candles in their apartment and then … then he'd ask her the most important question he'd ever asked anyone.

And if luck was on his side, Sarah would give him the best Christmas present he'd ever received by saying yes.


End file.
